A memorial celebrating the life of former WKU President Donald W. Zacharias is on display in the lobby of WKU’s Wetherby Administration Building.

There is a second memorial at Zacharias Hall, a residence hall named in his honor in 1997.

Remembering Dr. Donald Zacharias, 1935-2013

Remembering Dr. Donald Zacharias, 1935-2013

Remembering Dr. Donald Zacharias, 1935-2013

Remembering Dr. Donald Zacharias, 1935-2013

Remembering Dr. Donald Zacharias, 1935-2013

Dr. Donald Zacharias, WKU's sixth president, was a respected mentor.

Dr. Zacharias, WKU president from 1979 to 1985, died Sunday at age 77.

WKU President Gary Ransdell called Dr. Zacharias his mentor.

“He influenced my career in profound ways,” Dr. Ransdell said. “Every professional
move I have made since 1981, including my return to WKU in 1997, was done so with
counsel and inspiration from President Zacharias. He led two great Universities with
thoughtful and graceful skill. I know I speak in behalf of a generation of WKU faculty,
staff and alumni in extending our thoughts and prayers to Tommie (his wife) and the
Zacharias family.”

Dr. Zacharias became WKU’s sixth president on Aug. 1, 1979. He left WKU in 1985 to
become president of Mississippi State, a position he held until 1997.

Dr. Zacharias received a bachelor’s degree from Georgetown College in Kentucky in
1957 and a master’s degree from Indiana University in 1959, where he also completed
a doctorate in communication in 1963. He held an honorary Doctorate of Law from Georgetown
for distinguished contributions to the college.

He began his higher education career in 1963 as a faculty member in communication
at Indiana University, and served until 1969 when he joined the University of Texas
communication department, attaining full professor rank before entering administration.

In administrative roles with the University of Texas System, he held positions as
executive assistant to the chancellor of the 14-campus statewide system and as assistant
to the president of the Austin campus. He then spent six years as WKU, creating the
first comprehensive development program and significantly raising academic standards
before taking the helm at Mississippi State.

Born in Salem, Ind., in 1935, Dr. Zacharias is survived by his wife of 53 years, Tommie
Kline Zacharias, and their three adult children, Eric, Leslie and Alan, and three
grandchildren, all of Boulder, Colo. He is also survived by a sister, Mary Catherine
Zacharias Collier, of Yucaipa, Calif.